The sun begins shining into the penthouse of the Beresford Apartments in downtown Vancouver as it rises into the sky and signals the start of another day. The blinds are open in the bedroom and as the sun streams in, warming the face of a man who is sleeping soundly in his bed. The brightness begins to get to him and he stirs, rolling over and covering his head with his pillow.
The man is August Joyce. A man who has been through hell over the past two years. A man determined on putting that hell behind him and starting fresh.
Two years ago August Joyce had it all. A contract with a global wrestling promotion, one of their most prestigious championships around his waist and a world of opportunity at his feet. But, as any professional wrestler will tell you, things change quickly in this business.
Once August lost his championship things spiralled out of control. He went missing the same night and wasn’t seen for eighteen long months. Eighteen months in which August was to become a father and miss the first year of his son’s life. Eighteen months in which he was held against his will. Eighteen months in which he was constantly forced to do the bidding of a man intent on destroying the company that he worked for.
But now August is a free man. Free to get to know his son, to get his life back on track and to get back to basics.
Laying next to August is his wife, Xanthe, who also begins to stir. She covers her eyes, shielding them from the morning sun as she sits up. She looks down at August and rolls her eyes. She pulls the covers back, stands up and heads to the window. Xanthe looks out on the city she has come to call home and smiles broadly.
Vancouver is a long way from home for Xanthe, having been born and raised on the Greek island of Kefalonia. It was her desire for knowledge that brought her here when she enrolled at the University of British Columbia to study law but it was meeting August that has kept her here. After dropping out of University she got a job working for August’s then agent. The two met, fell in love and were married within two years.
Xanthe turns back to her man in bed, still hiding beneath his pillow.
“Get up.”
“F*** off!” August’s muffled response comes as no surprise to his wife. “It’s too early.”
“Like hell it is.” Xanthe grabs his pillow and pulls it away from his face. “It’s a beautiful morning and we have work to do.”
“Work? You don’t work, you have a kid to look after.” August can feel the daggers as Xanthe gives him her patented death stare. “Which means you work more than anyone… ever.”
Xanthe smashes August on the head with his pillow. Several times. As much as he winds her up sometimes, she’s just glad to have him home.
“Ok, I give up.” August is tapping the mattress and laughing.
August sits himself up in bed, wiping his face in a way to try and wake himself up a little.
“I suppose I do have work to be getting on with. I mean, with what’s happened to me over the past couple of years I’m totally out of shape.”
Xanthe looks down at August’s body. Leaner than usual and covered in cuts and bruises which are only just starting to fade and heal.
“How long do you think it will take to get back to normal?” Xanthe asks.
August shrugs. “I dunno. A while.” He notices his wife’s concerned look and smiles up at her. “But hey, I’m here. My spirit’s still as strong as ever. When I get back in that ring it won’t matter that I’m bruised and a little scrawnier than usual. I’ll still be fighting just as hard. Hell, since meeting my son I’ve got myself even more to fight for!”
“Great…” Xanthe is pleased to hear about her husbands new found motivation. “So what does today hold?”
“I’m going to the pub.”
The Frog & Firkin has been a favourite haunt of August’s for several years. This old English style Pub is where he often finds his old friend David Spikey, Spike to his friends. Or The Betamax Kid as August likes to call him.
Spike is from Liverpool, England. He moved to Canada in the late nineties to learn from the best wrestlers in the region. He and August were both promising youngsters together and they wrestled together on many an occasion. August was the popular one with the crowd, but technically speaking Spike was the better wrestler. Spike was the Betamax to August’s VHS.
Spike became disenchanted with the business and got sloppy, leading to an injury that ended his career. He’s stayed in Vancouver ever since, teaching wrestling to local kids and working as a personal trainer in a small gym. But, most of all, he spends his time at the Frog & Firkin.
“Hey, Spike.” August Joyce walks up to the bar, taking a stool next to his friend. “Fancy seeing you here. You not got a job to go to?”
“Not today, our kid.” Spike takes a sip of his lager. “I’m takin’ a day off. Seein’ the sights, like.”
“Many sights in here?” August teases.
Spike nods. “Yea, jus’ look at dat view…” He points behind the bar at the wide array of bottles on display. “Ain’t dat just lovely?”
August laughs.
“What the hell you doin’ here anyways?” Spike asks. “An’ what the hell’s up with quitin’ the MWA for Peach State?”
August still doesn’t know that it was Dave that got him his shot at the big time. Spike put a lot of work in to get him his contract, twisted several arms and persuaded some big shots with the MWA to give him a deal. While part of him understands why he made the move, Spike still feels aggrieved that his work was seemingly all for nothing.
“I came to see you. Thought we should catch up.” August explains. “As for Peach State… I need to get back to basics. Back to wrestling. In Madison things are never straight forward. Wars, betrayals, kidnapping… that’s not my style. I’m a wrestler. I just want to wrestle.”
“An’ you think Fayetteville is the place to be?”
August nods. “I think it’s right for me. I knew a long time ago that I needed a change. I looked into all sorts of promotions all over the US, Canada, Japan, England… nowhere seemed right.”
“An’ Peach State does?” Spike asks, already knowing the answer.
“Yeah.” August smiles. “It feels like the right move for me. It gives me an opportunity to start again. To brush up on my skills, to learn a few new things. Hell, maybe one day I’ll actually be as technically gifted as the Betamax Kid!”
He slaps his friend on the shoulder, almost causing him to spill his beer.
“Oh hell naw!”
A voice comes from just out of view, Joyce and Spike turn round to see a friend of theirs smiling at them wickedly. The man is Benjamin Doi. August’s former tag-team partner and close friend. Ben has a storied upbringing; born Benjamin Finidi in Nigeria, his family moved to Chicago when he was a young boy. During a return trip to their homeland the Finidi’s were killed in a terrorist attack, having left Benjamin and his sister with their Japanese neighbours. Those neighbours, the Doi’s, adopted Benjamin and he lived with them until moving to Canada to pursue his wrestling training. It was here that he met August.
The two men were the leading force of the Children of Xu, a group which also included August’s wife Xanthe and Yana Gradlienko, a young orphan from Russia. In fact all four members of the CoX were orphans, brought together by their leader… and agent… Zhen Xu. But now Zhen has moved on, taking a job with the promotion August has just left. But the four members remain firm friends, even if the group is now disbanded.
“Benj, good to see ya.” Spike says as he looks up from his pint.
“Aint this jus’ like old times?” Ben says with a beaming smile. “Barkeep, get these fine gentlemen some more drinks!”
“Fine gentlemen? You been drinking already?” August asks.
“Nice to see you too, August. Now, give a brother a hug!”
The men share a brief man-embrace, patting each other’s back hard as a sign of manliness.
“Ah, bro-mance is still alive den…” Spike turns back to his drink.
“So what’s up?” Joyce questions his friend.
“I jus’ come to offer my services.” Ben says, still smiling widely. “You need to get yo ass back in shape, brush off that damn ring-rust an’ pick up a few new tricks. An’ I got us exclusive use of Spike’s wrestlin’ school ring today.”
“Awesome, let’s get down there.” August beams as he turns to Spike. “You gonna come and teach me a thing or two?”
“Screw you, it’s me day off from dat place!”
“I think you oughta come with, Spike. I got an offer for the pair a y’all.”
August Joyce and David Spikey are circling each other in a wrestling ring as Benjamin Doi watches on from ringside. The two men hook up, test each others strength and then release, stepping back and circling again for a brief moment.
“Kimba’s on the way up, there’s no doubt about that.” August says, continuing their conversation which we join part way through. “He sees Peach State as a stepping stone to greater things. And I caught his match with the champ last week, he looked impressive. Not enough to get the win, but you can see his potential. He’s dangerous.”
“Hell, with what you been through? I’da thought you’d be used to danger!” Ben laughs at ringside.
Joyce and Spike hook up once more, this time Joyce spins around behind him and grabs him around the waist. Joyce takes Spike down with a release German Suplex. Spike crashes to the mat had and lets out a slight moan.
“Remind me why I’m ‘ere again.” He says, picking himself up off the canvas.
Doi answers. “To help August. And to brush off a lil ring rust. Like I said, I got an offer fo’ ya both.”
“What offer?” August moves over to the ropes and looks out at his friend.
“Ever heard of the Untied Nations?”
Spike and August look at each other blankly.
“He means the United Nations, right?” Spike laughs.
“No, I mean the Untied Nations. An international group of wrestlers. An elite force.” Doi speaks with a conviction in his voice.
“And by elite you mean rag-tag?” Joyce jokes with his friend.
“Nah man, they good.”
“Where’s this goin’?” Spike’s droll tone tells his friend to get to the point.
“They invited me to join.” Doi says with a smile.
Spike can’t help but to burst out laughing.
“And they wanted me to ask you both to join us.”
Suddenly the laughter stops. August paces around the ring in silence for a moment.
“No.” He says, shaking his head. “I’m not joining any groups, working for any agencies or aligning myself with anyone ever again. I’m strictly a singles guy. I need to make a name for myself, all over again, on my own merit. Just me. And that all starts with No Excuses and my match with Seanoa.”
Doi nods, understanding where his friend is coming from. Spike’s nodding in agreement too.
“For too long I’ve been lead by someone else. For too long I’ve been a pawn in another person’s game. For too long I’ve been an afterthought, an also-ran. Not any more. Peach State Wrestling better realise what they’ve let themselves in for in hiring me. I’m determined. I’m focused. I’m ready, willing and able to work my way to the top of the company. And the first step is Kimba Seanoa!”